Apple is said to be starting a new subscription based music streaming service in the early half of 2013. The new service will see Apple take head-on the likes of Pandora, Rdio, Spotify and, the newly announced Xbox Music (Microsoft).

The speculation comes on the back of intense talks between Apple and the major music labels.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is seeking to collaboratively create, with the major music labels, new ways by which users can discover, play and buy music through their devices. It has been said that Apple is requesting that the major music labels, such as Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, increase their flexibility when it comes to licensing agreements in relation to music streaming. On top of this, Apple is also pressuring to have earlier access to new releases, which if granted could provide them with a strong market advantage.

If this new service comes to fruition, which is extremely likely, it could spell the end for the likes of Pandora, Spotify and Rdio. In fact, the impact of Apple’s impending move into the streaming-radio game has already been felt with Pandora’s share price declining 12 percent yesterday (25th Oct 2012).

With much speculation still surrounding this story and the typical “cloak and dagger” nature of Apple operations we are sure that there will be much more to reveal about this one over the coming months.